Levee

Levees are wide walls formed along river banks to help keep the water in the river bed and prevent flooding. In the spring time or after heavy rains, many rivers overflow into the low lying lands around them. When they overflow they still carry dirt and sediment with them. The flooded water cannot move as fast as it did in the river; therefore, it begins to drop the dirt along the river bank. Eventually the dirt and debris accumulate and form natural levees.
These natural levees help to protect the people who live along the river from floods, as the water must reach a higher level to go over the levee. In many places, especially along the Mississippi River, these natural levees are not enough to protect the people, and wide walls or man-made levees are built along the river to keep it from flooding. They are made of sandbags and banked earth.

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THE ONE DOLLAR BILL

The United States one-dollar bill is the most common denomination of US currency, totaling 45% of all bills ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100) produced. There are about 2 billion $1 bills in circulation.

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SUGAR IN THE MIDDLE AGES

In the Middle Ages, sugar was a treasured luxury costing 9 times as much as milk. Ironically, now that sugar is plentiful, sugar-free products are more popular than ever before.

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What is a depressant?

A depressant is a drug that reduces the activity of various body functions. Some depressants such as anesthetics, sedatives, antiepileptics, narcotics analgesics, and some muscle relaxants, slow nervous and muscular activity by acting on the central nervous system. Tranquilizers are depressants that affect only part of the nervous system. They induce relaxation without causing total depression.